Germany · Mosel

Forstmeister Geltz Zilliken

Forstmeister Geltz Zilliken is a family-owned Saar estate of exceptional historical importance, based in Saarburg and farming the celebrated Saarburger Rausch vineyard — a steep south-facing slate site considered among the Saar's greatest terroirs for Riesling. The estate has been in the Zilliken family since 1798, when Johann Adam Zilliken managed vineyards for the King of Prussia. Today, Hans-Joachim Zilliken and his daughter Dorothee manage approximately 10 hectares with a focus on Spätlese, Auslese, and rare Goldkapsel bottlings. The Saarburger Rausch Riesling Spätlese leads at auction with 36 lots averaging $53 and the 2002 vintage most traded — a legendary Saar year. The Auslese Goldkapsel averages $103 across 29 lots with the 1997 vintage most represented. Individual bottles have reached $437, with an overall auction average of $71 across 158 lots. Zilliken's wines are defining expressions of Saar Riesling: lighter-bodied, razor-sharp in acidity, with a unique slate minerality and residual sweetness that demands 10–20 years to harmonize. The 2002 vintage is perhaps the greatest modern Saar year and remains the estate's most collectible benchmark.